AP Lit

I forgot that i didn't share my experience of finding the criticisms at the library. I walked in confused and scared to be honest. The librarian was not nice or helpful and she sent me off on my own to find the books. Once i got to my destination i could only find one criticism on Cat on a hot tin roof. I began to question whether or not i should change books. I asked my brother to check the library at Michigan state where there was only a few books. Msu is kind of far and i didnt want to have to drive all the way up there to get the books so he gave me a link to the online msu library. There, i found a good amount of criticisms and it was really convenient. I was overall really happy with my findings.

This was the portion of the project that I feared to write the most. I did not know how to start it off and what i needed to talk about. I got help from some friends and they told me it was similar to a metacog except there’s a little more to it. I still struggled writing about my own experience with the book because i struggled understanding it when i was reading. 

Why is everyone freaking out about this part of the project?? To me this was the easiest to write. When i was writing this part, every thought came out smoothly and it didn't take me long to finish. I gave a short summary of each annotation and that was basically it. People are saying we have to mention our criticisms in this part? Is this true???

It wasn't all that hard to do once I relaxed and sat down in front of the computer. I got a lot of my information from my criticisms which was extremely helpful. At this point I’m confident my final end result will be just fine.

At first i struggled figuring out what passages I would choose to annotate. Since my work is play, all of my passages would have to consist of dialogue which is both good and bad. 

In Act three, everything seems to slip from Maggie’s hands as Gooper and Mae tell Big Mama that Big Daddy is dying. They try to swoop in and claim ownership of Big Daddy's fortune. There is resolution when Big Mama tells them to shut up and she realizes her relationship with Big Daddy parallels Brick and Maggie’s. Then suddenly, out of impulse and fear of losing the estate, Maggie informs everyone she is going to have a baby. This just goes to show how much more important his fortune was to Maggie than her marriage this whole time. I also think that this could be a misuse of love. To top it all of, she fiendishly comes up with a way to get Brick to sleep with her. I get an eerie feeling at the end now that the house is finally quiet and that everyone knows Big Daddy is dying. If there was a second play I would definitely read it because I want to know what happens next or if I could just hear what Williams intentions were, that would be satisfying. I’ve noticed that the tone throughout the script is fierce. Characters are always fighting with words to get what they want. It comes off as being animal-like. I think that’s maybe why the title has “cat” in it because everyone is fierce like cats. There even is a part in the script where Maggie tells Brick that she feels like they share a cage.  On the other hand, there is also softness to the script. I get this feeling from the set, which is described as a bedroom with luxurious white curtains and windows. Also, all of the desires from the characters come across as soft.

In Act two of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, we are introduced to Big Daddy, the father of Brick. Big Daddy seems to be an old fashioned redneck guy who is always hard on Brick. Big Daddy begins to interrogate Brick about his sex life and alcohol addiction. As the interrogating continues, it’s evident that Brick’s sexuality is the reason for his drinking. Big Daddy wants Brick to become his rightful heir and their conversation is heavily based on what is not allowed between them. I think Big Daddy has a narcissistic love for his son because he keeps highlighting the indifference they share and how he want’s his grandchild to be just the same as both of them. Brick’s homosexuality also becomes a major part of the conversation and Big Daddy at first claims it a normal thing even he experienced younger. He says that it’s in their family history for the wives to want men who want nothing to do with them. Big Daddy completely misses the point and Brick gets angered because this is important to him. I think Brick is definitely being oppressed and he just wants big daddy to accept it but he doesn’t want to let him down.

I’m really bad at making decisions and I’ve switched books two times already. However, I settled with reading the play Cat On A Hot Tin Roof by Tennesse Williams. Since this is so late in the game I wanted to pick a play cause they’re usually a short and easy read but also because I know a lot about theatre, so this interests me. After reading the first 50 pages of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, there is already so much character development. The play opens up with Maggie trying to lure her husband’s desires. Already, she fascinates me with her humor and dramatic personality. Brick, her husband, clearly seems uninterested as if something is keeping him from loving his wife. As I was reading I was also thinking like a director. I was picturing the set, costumes, and other important elements of theatre. So far I’m intrigued by the characters and can’t wait to read on.

There would be no John Legend, Beyonce, Kanye West, Mary J Blige, Alicia Keys or even Drake without Stevie Wonder. These artists have incorporated Stevie’s music on their own albums before. The Stevie influenced list of singers probably doesn’t even stop there. Through clear cut cover versions and more subtle influence in songwriting, phrasing and vocal delivery, his music carved a giant path for many black singers and songwriters that are popular today. 

Many rejected book titles later, I stumbled upon Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. I've seen the play before and it was very mysterious/intriguing. I figured the book must be even better and I also found loads of literary criticism. Kreinbring even gave it a good review, so I think I will choose this book.

Like many of my classmates, I too was struggling to find the perfect book to read for my project. I admit it feels nice to finally be able to pick a book of my choice to read for school instead of being forced to read something from the curriculum that I usually end up hating. I had to google AP books to generate ideas because I'm not familiar with them. I came across a few titles but I found little criticism on them so I kept on searching.

Music has always been around me and it is key to one of my strongest abilities. When I listen to music I don't have any particular objective, but when I listen to music getting inspired is natural. It inspires me to think higher and gives me life. Whether it’s the tone, lyrics or rhythm of a song, music ignites emotion. It’s so powerful that it inspired me to become myself once again. Phillip Phillip’s song “Home” is why I achieve a more confident life today.